


Safe Among The Stars

by Underunderthunder



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Smut, Government Conspiracy, M/M, Major Illness, Set In Modern Time, Supernatural Elements, apocalypse pending?, au:falling star, eren is just trying his best ok?, erwin is also trying his best, still a love story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-03-12 22:01:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13556454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Underunderthunder/pseuds/Underunderthunder
Summary: “I have a naked alien in my car,” Eren softly said to himself.AU: When a disease threatens humanity, a crew in a secret underground lab desperately search for a cure before it is too late. Meanwhile, Eren runs into a strange but beautiful glowing man in the desert who might be a fallen star.





	1. Chapter 1

Somewhere deep in the desert there was an underground lab built in the late 1950s during a time of great experimentation. Over the years it had been passed on from one government agency to the next. During the trade off, all history would be scrubbed away of any crime or discovery that occurred in the lab. 

It was the kind of thing that made any conspiracy nut drool. 

When the current crew moved in, they were relieved to see that much of the equipment remained. This meant less funding spent on essentials and more time figuring out what they were hired to do.

Overall the work happening with the current occupants was dull until recently. They were tasked with creating a cure, or vaccine, or something to stop the spread of a disease taking hold of humanity. It was being called ‘The New Death Plague’, which sounded over romantic and a little too Hollywood for how devastating it really was. 

No one could track the incubation period and the symptoms ranged from mild to horrific. Many only experienced what they thought was a cold until their co-workers found them dead in the break room. Others would be ever so lucky to experience blood pouring from their ears, splitting headaches, and loss of motor functions. It was a horrible death.

All anyone knew was one day the patient would just stop breathing. Done. Dead.

Which was frustrating. 

Worldwide panic had yet to begin. No, that usually wouldn't happen until someone important, like a celebrity or a cute rich kid, succumbed to it. Government officials believed numbers were under a thousand deaths globally, but no one was confident on that number. They knew they needed answers before anyone started asking questions.

Luckily, Erwin Smith thought he found a solution in his backyard. Literally in a hole, right between his overturned lawn chairs and grill, in the shape of a girl.

Erwin had been awoken by the loud noise and grabbed the gun he kept in his side table. He had already had a few run ins with local teens messing around in this part of the desert even though it was supposed to be restricted. He still had a pretty gnarly scratch on his hand from the chained fence when he tried to chase after a few of them. He could only guess when the annoyance would become a bigger problem.

Instead of a fight, he found a naked girl covered in a golden dust in a large hole in his yard. It seemed to have been created by an impact as most of his lawn equipment was scattered. It wasn’t a large hole, only a couple feet deep, but the naked girl inside of it was something to his concern. Her hair was white and her eyes large and blue. She was shivering and had her arms wrapped around her. She looked like a child. 

“Are you alright?” He asked carefully to not scare the girl away.

“Are you alright?” She repeated.

Blinking as if she had something in her eye, she turned away from him and continued to shiver. Erwin noticed it wasn’t a dust covering the girl, but a golden glow that seemed to be escaping from her body. Her body was radiating light like a candle. 

“Can I help you up?” He held up out his hand into the hole. 

She repeated his words back to him as she tried to stand on her own but shakily fell back. He caught her hand before she could faint, and carefully pulled her up. Her body was cold and he knew he had to get her inside. As he opened the screen door with his foot, he swore he felt a strange sensation in his hand, as if someone was dragging a pen across the wound from the fence. It wasn’t painful, but wasn’t pleasant either. 

He placed her on the sofa and grabbed a blanket to wrap around her. First instinct was to call his superiors to see what he should do, but his attention was drawn to his hand. The wound, that only moments before had been stinging, was gone. Vanished without a trace, not even a scar left behind.

Which was very strange, but got him thinking. He needed to call the crew. 

***

_Months later, in another part of the desert..._

Eren Yeager was a soldier. He had seen death, smelled death and worst of all, heard death. It sounded like prayers and cries for mom. Guttural and wet. Loud and haunting. So much noise for something that should be so private. 

“3rd and Pine, please.”

The sounds he heard in his taxi were a little less terrifying but a little more annoying. Most of the time it was drunken soon-to-be lovers headed off to some motel thinking they could sneakily touch each other and he wouldn't notice. Of course alcohol impaired judgement and most of the encounters were embarrassingly sloppy. Eren always took the time to wipe down the seats after that. 

His car was his office, so might as well keep it clean. But then again, he was taught to keep everything neat, orderly, and minimal. Easier to get up and leave without possessions weighing you down. 

The man currently in his backseat was dressed in a suit and didn’t smell of liquor, so it probably meant he worked late. Eren would feel bad, but he drove most of the night so his sympathy meter was low. He knew every neon sign in this city and saw shady street corner deals on every turn. He was a silent observer. 

Eren confirmed the address with the man and started down the main drag. Other taxis weaved in and out of traffic and on occasion Eren would nod to the drivers he knew, but mostly he listened to classical music, which was the only genre he knew wouldn’t offend someone. The local news broke through as it always did at the top of the hour. The radio host was talking about a meteor show that would be starting at any minute.

“It’s supposed to be the largest meteor shower in ten years,” Eren commented as he drove.

The man grunted in such a way that it could have meant ‘awesome, I’ll have to check it out,’ or ‘fuck off.’ Benefit of the doubt was usually how he handled this situation to stay sane on these long nights. 

He dropped the man off, making sure to thank him for his measly dollar tip, and continued to his next destination. He had been called ahead to pick up a couple at a hotel a few miles out of town at a resort. There were plenty of these resorts in the desert, costing thousands upon thousands of dollars to export water to a dry land. 

He tried not to care, because this meant more work from folks too rich to care. He waited outside the resort, tallying up his wait time. Finally a bellhop ran out to see what he could do to assist. Minutes later Eren was being turned away as the rich couple had decided a quiet night in their room was better than heading to the nightlife. 

“At least I got the wait pay,” He said to himself as he watched the money transfer into his account. 

Nothing else scheduled for the night, he decided that he had time to spare. He knew these roads and was comfortable driving where the streetlights ended. Instead of turning towards the noise and the the swarm of people, he headed out to the vast uninhabited land.

“Largest meteor shower in ten years,” He thought out loud. “Might as well go check it out.”

A couple miles into the desert the shower had started. It was really fascinating to watch the sky light up with the trails of flame. He knew it wasn't really falling stars, but he liked to think otherwise. His mom used to tell him stories about how falling stars were really beings so in love with earth that they wanted to live here instead of the sky. The falling stars would become people so lovely and kind that if you ever had a chance to meet one, you would surely not forget it. 

But falling stars were really just burning space junk. 

Eren found a sense of peace driving alone down the highway with the spectacle before him. He knew better than to get to far out as he was certain there was some sort of festival or party going on to celebrate the event. So he pulled over where he thought he would get the best view, but just as he was coming to stop, he saw a streak that seemed awfully close. In face, it was getting way too close. The sky grew brighter and brighter as Eren realized that it was going to crash. 

“Holy shit!” Eren yelled as he defensively put his arm in front of his eyes. 

The blast wasn’t nearly as devastating as Eren feared. A soft rumble, almost like a small earthquake, and it was over. He could see the smoke from the impact site nearly 400 yards away from the road. Putting his car into park, he mindfully opened his door. The road was silent and it seemed he was the only one who noticed the ball of fire hitting the ground. He feared it was a small plane and grabbed his cell phone incase he had to call for help.

He raced towards where he had seen the flame hit and found a crater nearly 10 feet wide and 4 feet deep but couldn’t see the contents due to the smoke. Shining a light from the flashlight app on his phone, he peered into the dust and debris. He knew death. He had seen death. He wasn’t afraid of what he might find.

But he did not find death when the smoke cleared. In the crater stood a naked man trying to stand up. There was no signs of injury or pain. His legs wobbled when he tried to stand but he collapsed back to the dirt, appearing to have fainted. His hair was white and and his skin was a startling shade of pale. The moon was shining so oddly on him that it appeared he was glowing. 

There was no way anyone should have survived that fall. Jumping into action, Eren slid down the crater. On closer inspection, Eren realized it wasn’t the light of the moon, but a soft glow coming out of his skin. It was speckled with gold and reminded him of sunlight on a lake.

“What is that?” Eren asked and was surprised when the man opened his eyes.

Eren let out a noise that he wasn't quite sure of and took a step back. 

“What is that?” The man said weakly, trying to push himself off of the ground.

“Whoa, whoa, hey, easy,” Eren tried to calm the man down, suddenly worried about him hurting himself further. 

The glowing man did not listen and collapsed again on his back into the dirt. Eren stopped just short of reaching him, suddenly afraid of who this was. The glow was fading away, leaving behind a beautiful yet exhausted person behind. He looked like he had step out of some goddamn myth. The man’s eyes were so blue as he looked up the sky. 

“Are you hurt?” Eren asked, kneeling in the dirt next to him. “What happened?”

The man turned to look at Eren, his tired eyes meeting his. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Eren replied, looking up the sky. “You just kind of...crashed.”

The man nodded. “Crashed.”

It was clear the man needed help. Eren knew he couldn’t leave him in the desert so he gently helped the man to his feet. For the first time Eren could feel how chilled his body was. The man started to shiver violently, prompting Eren to remove his jacket and wrap it around the man’s shoulders. Of course, that didn’t help the rest of his very naked body but it would have to do for now. 

Eren was certain the man was concussed. The only logical explanation he had was this was some strange skydiving accident. By some stroke of luck, it appeared that the man was otherwise unharmed. 

Keeping them both steady, Eren brought the man back to his taxi and sat him in the backseat. Luckily he had an emergency blanket in the back that could cover him. The shaking grew less extreme, but Eren could still see he was cold. Moving up to the driver’s seat, he started the car and turned up the heat.

“Is there anywhere I can drop you off?” Eren asked, looking at the man in his rearview mirror. “Any friends or family in the area? Anyone who could loan you some clothes? Otherwise I’m thinking you might want to stop at the clinic to make sure you didn’t do any damage.”

The man said nothing as he turned around in the seat, the blanket wrapped tight around his body, and looked out of the back window. 

“You are going to have to sit down and buckle in,” Eren sighed. 

Again, no response. 

“Come on, dude, I need you to-”

“Crashed.”

Eren’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he looked in his rearview mirror. Looking past the strange man, he thought he saw movement behind them on the road. Moving his vision to his side mirror, he saw a black vehicle with their headlights off speeding towards them. It didn't appear they were going to to stop.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Eren cried as he put the car into drive. 

He just managed to swing around to the other side of the road as the other car sped past in the same spot he was moments ago. Eren put his foot to the gas, catching speed as they raced back to the city. 70, 80, 90...

“Get in the front seat and buckle up now!” Eren yelled to the man in the back seat. 

The man, who truly looked like he couldn’t be much older than a child, hurriedly jumped into the seat next to him. The blanket was covering everything but his face and a few tufts of hair that were now blonde instead of white. Eren yelled at him again to put his seat belt on. When the man just repeated the phase back, Eren groaned and reached over to buckle him in.

“We need to be safe, ok?” Eren spoke as if he was teaching a toddler how to stay out of the road.

“Safe, ok?” The man repeated.

Deciding to tackle this situation later, Eren looked back into his mirror to see the car catching up to them. He had never drag raced before, didn't have any known enemies, and usually didn’t get road rage, so he really wasn’t certain why this car was on his ass. They kept speeding up, and when he changed into the wrong lane, they followed. He didn’t do anything to them, which meant it must have to do with that man. But why would they try to hide by turning their headlights off and almost rear ending them if they were just trying to get to him?

“Do you know them?” Eren asked as he drove on the side of the road, hoping the traction would pull the other car away.

The man shivered, his face blank as if he didn’t understand the danger they were in. “Do you know them?”

So that wasn’t leading anywhere. Luckily they city lights were in view, and one last swerve in the road guided them into speed limit signs and hundreds of other cars that looked just like his. In seconds Eren could not longer see the black car, and he sighed a breath of relief.

They drove in silence for nearly an hour until Eren felt like they were no longer being tailed. They pulled into a fast food restaurant’s parking lot to come up with a plan. The man was wide awake, the blanket still wrapped around his now at rest body. His eyes, once so tired, were open. It seemed like he was taking in every light, every billboard, and every person on the street. It reminded Eren of the way tourists acted as he drove them from the airport to whatever ritzy hotel they were staying in.

“We need to talk,” Eren said, getting the man’s attention. 

“We need to talk,” The man repeated.

“Let's try this,” Eren said, rubbing the bridge of his nose “I talk, you nodded if you agree with something, like this.” Eren showed him how to nod, which the man imitated. “If I’m wrong about something, shake your head like this.” Eren slowly shook his head, which the man imitated. “Good. So...are you hurt?”

The man shook his head.

“Great! Ok, we can do this.” Eren clapped his hands. “Are you from here?”

The man shook his head.

“Are you visiting?”

The man shook his head.

Eren groaned. “Do you want to be here?”

The man nodded.

“So you aren’t from here, you aren’t visiting, but you want to be here,” Eren thought out loud. “Do you want to go to a hospital?”

The man cocked his head to the side before shaking his head.

“Do you know what a hospital is?”

The man shook his head.

This was going to take a lot longer than he thought. This man who literally fell from the sky, naked as the day he was born, who didn’t know how to communicate and led him on a wild chase in the desert, didn’t know what a hospital was. Eren was beginning to understand that he got himself in way over his head.

“Can I call anyone for you?” Eren sighed in frustration. “There has to be someone out there who is worried about you. Maybe someone from your home?”

The man’s shoulders slouched and he bit his lip. It was the first sign of emotion Eren had really seen since he dragged him to the car. Without announcement, the man opened the car door and got out, prompting Eren to reach over to try to pull him back in.

“Dude! You are naked under that blanket!” Eren cried out, and when he failed to pull him in raced out of the car.

The large fast food sign was shining a blue neon glow over them, reminding Eren of the circumstance he had even found this man in. The man had tumbled to the ground in no protective gear in a ball of fire yet was completely unharmed. Eren knew for a fact that his golden hair had been white when he first saw him and that he had glowing skin. It was like he wasn’t even human.

The man faced Eren, his large eyes wet as he pointed to the sky. “Home.”

“Your home is…”Eren looked at the direction his finger was pointed. “Your home is in the sky?”

The man gave him one last nod before collapsing onto the concrete of the parking lot. Eren was quick to swoop him up and get him back to the car. He softly placed him down onto the passenger seat, making sure the blanket was still covering up his cold body. It was like his body couldn’t regulate itself to the weather, as if wasn’t used to the temperature.

The man remained unconscious but alive as Eren buckled him in before getting into the car himself. He sat, in his taxi, in the parking lot, going over the events with the stranger asleep next to him. His language seemed to be only the few words Eren had spoke to him but he seemed to easily grasp the meaning. He had no sense of social expectations regarding clothing or vehicles. He was obviously some sort of superhuman that could not be killed from long falls. Plus, that strange car that tried to ram into them only appeared after Eren took it upon himself to care for him. 

_Home._

His home was in the sky. 

Eren slowly turned his head towards the sleeping man, seeing him for the first time in a much different light. 

“I have a naked alien in my car,” Eren softly said to himself. 

What the hell was he going to do? His thoughts raced as he started to drive although he wasn’t sure where he was going. If this really was an alien, which still sounded so nuts, then that car chasing him could have been some sort of government extraterrestrial protection program or something. Yet here he was, driving around with someone or something that could get him in a lot of trouble. Wonderful. Perfect. 

He hadn’t realized he was headed back to his house until he pulled into the driveway. He drove into the garage and waited until the door was shut before slamming his head against the steering wheel. After he was satisfied with his punishment for such blatant stupidity of taking this strange man back home, he moved both himself and the man inside.

The garage led into the kitchen, which Eren blindly walked through until he hit the living room. Eren turned on the lamp and set the sleeping man on the couch before he left him alone to grab a pair of cotton pj bottoms and a tee shirt. The man was much smaller than Eren so he made sure to find a pair with a waistband that could be tied. 

When Eren arrived back in the living room he found the man was awake and staring at the lamp. Eren cleared his throat to catch the man’s attention and was happy to see it worked.

“I brought you clothes,” Eren said, holding the clothes out at arm’s length. “You need to wear them. That is what human people do.”

The man didn’t get up when he spoke. “Safe, ok?”

Eren looked at the pile of clothes in his outreached hands. “Huh, yeah, they are safe.”

The man nodded and stood up from the couch, letting the blanket fall away. Eren watched the naked man move across the room, mostly at how his smooth shoulders so lightly moved with every step. He had such a regal way of walking, as if nothing scared him. It was memorizing but totally alien like. Definitely alien like. 

“Here,” Eren offered again when the man came to a stop only inches from him. “Put them on.”

“Put them on.” The man made no intention of grabbing the clothes.

Just like talking to a child, Eren thought. Instead of arguing or trying to explain, Eren motioned to the man how to step into the pant leg, nearly toppling himself over in the process. Once he was over with his demonstration, the man had his legs at least where they needed to be. After a few more failed explanations, Eren managed to get the man fully dressed and seated back on the couch. 

Eren turned their attention back to creating a plan. “Do you have anywhere you can go? Nod for yes, shake your head for no.”

The man shook his head.

If this crazy theory was right and this man really was some sort of alien, then of course he wouldn't have anywhere to go. Eren sighed again, he felt like he had been doing that a lot tonight, and nodded to himself.

“This is what we will do,” Eren told the man. “You can stay here tonight and tomorrow we will figure out what we should do but I have to know what to call you. What is your name?”

The man blinked but said nothing.

Eren put his hand on his chest. “My name is Eren, so when you talk to me or about me, you are referring to Eren, which is me. What can I call you?”

The man put a hand on his own chest. “Eren.”

“No. That is my name. It would get confusing if we were both Eren. Pick something else.”

The man nodded before answering. “Eren.”

“No,” Eren took hold of the man’s hand. “You are not Eren.”

His plan to help interpret the situation was to bring the man’s hand to his chest and repeat his name in an attempt to have him understand that the name ‘Eren’ belonged to him, a la Tarzan and Jane. This greatly failed the moment the man’s hand made contact with his chest as something startling happened. 

Eren’s vision went dark and he felt like he was being pulled in all directions. Sparks of colors he didn’t even recognize flashed in his vision and his throat felt like it was closing. The world went quiet, like he was wearing headphones.

It was the most frightened he had ever been.

Gasping for breath, Eren pushed the man away. “What the-”

As soon as the man's hand left Eren’s chest, he returned back to a normal state of being. The man, who only moments before was looking at him without emotion, had a complete change in posture. His body seemed to relax as he looked around the room. He looked at the simplest of things, like the light fixture on the wall or the curtain blocking their view of the outside, like they suddenly made sense.

He then turned back to Eren and smiled. Eren thought it was the most beautiful smile and how lucky he was to have had the chance to see it. The man moved into a cross legged sitting position across from him on the couch, looking more comfortable than he had been before.

“I understand now,” The man said, his voice becoming softer. “My name is Armin.”

It was Eren’s turn to be confused and speechless.

“What-uh...who are you?” Eren stammered out. “Whe-where are you from?”

“My name is Armin,” The man, now officially known as Armin, repeated. “I am from the sky but do not worry. I am not an alien.”

“What…”

Armin shook his head like Eren had taught him. “I saw in your thoughts that you are worried that I am an alien. I am not an alien. I am a star.”

“Oh, ok,” Eren felt the color drain from his face. “I see. You are not an alien. You are a star. A star that can apparently look into my head. Well, that clears that up. If you excuse me, I need a moment.”

Eren left his new friend, who happened to be a star, on his living room couch and went into the bathroom. He turned towards the mirror and proceeded to slap himself. When his cheek stung from the impact he knew he could rightfully say that he was awake. Having made that determination, he moved back out to the living room to find that Armin was asleep on the couch with the blanket wrapped around him once again. 

Unsure what to do, Eren sat at the end of the couch next to Armin’s blanket wrapped feet. For a long time he stared at the blank TV screen until his eyes began to grow heavy. He gave one last look to the man on his couch and tried to convince himself that Armin was not softly glowing, before falling into a heavy sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Erwin Smith was never interested in the cosmos. Planets, galaxies, black holes...this meant nothing to him. His roots were focused in the medical world. There was more than enough need on Earth for him to care of than wandering into the realms of space.

He worked damned hard to get where he was, including pushing aside all other enjoyments in his life. He couldn’t remember the last time he read a book for entertainment or saw a movie on opening weekend. Quickly rising above and beyond his fellow medical staff, his success was noted by someone important in power. Which was how he ended up here with his ragtag group of geniuses. 

Ymir, brash and brave, was never afraid to try his more strange ideas She was a builder in all sense of the word. He gave her his idea and she gave him the product. Snark covered any insecurity she had and she could throw a mean punch.

Hange and Moblit worked together with a speed even he could not master. If he needed information they knew where to look. If he wasn’t careful, he knew he could easily become lazy in his studies and just relay on those two alone. 

Mike had steady hands and nerves of something stronger than steel. He had seen the worse yet when Erwin told him they had to go back to hell, he was by his side. Nanaba, a soldier who was willing to dive into whatever mess he had created, was often Mike’s shadow. 

Oddballs, outcasts, and all smarter than the average bear, Erwin was lucky to have found them. Together they were the world’s force behind healing injuries from biological weapons. They worked tirelessly to solve medical disasters. It was stressful but he yet to feel burnt out. He could stay working in the lab all night if nothing was pulling him away. 

But someone was always pulling him away and he knew at the end of the day he had to return. Levi was his reason to leave work at work and the only pleasure he allowed in his life. Levi was equally as brilliant as any of his comrades and challenged him daily. Somehow Erwin had convinced him time after time to pick up, pack up, and move somewhere new with him. While Levi would often complain about the hassle of quitting jobs, eventually leaving him playing a much more domestic role in the home, he still followed Erwin wherever he went. 

In return, Erwin did his best to not be away too long or leave suddenly in the middle of the night but that changed when the star fell into their backyard.

He would try not to catch Levi’s glare when he would receive a text that things were ready to go. The times were random but the worse was when he got the message was in bed next to Levi. The soft ‘beep beep’ would ripple towards them like angry hail. Erwin would leave one last kiss against Levi’s hair before jumping out and heading out.

Time was running out. He was beginning to see articles online regarding a fatal new flu going around. He wasn’t sure how many days he had before mass panic set in but his crew had a plan.

From what Erwin was able to gather, her name was Historia and she was a star. While this did change his concept of the cosmos, he did not have time to dwell on the idea as he tethered her down to the chair early that morning.

“One last run,” He told her as he tightened the straps around her ankles.

Her pale blue eyes were unmoving and she did not respond. She was often silent and only told just enough about what they needed to know. The chair, reminiscent of a medieval torture device, was bolted to the floor of a large glass tube. The tube was 4 feet wide by 5 feet tall and had multiple tubes and wires escaping connected to multiple computer screens. Hange loved to call it her ‘alien cage’ although they had established that Historia was a not an alien. Apparently, that was an insult to stars.

While each wire was important, the only one he was really concerned with was connected to an even smaller glass container that held a vial. This vial is where he hoped to hold the key to the humanity’s future.

“We will try 5 seconds this time.” Erwin knew this was much longer than they had tried before, but Historia didn’t seem fazed. “Are you ready?”

Historia nodded and Erwin shut, locked, and latched the door to the tube shut. He knew from the moment that door shut he had 30 seconds to get out of the room. He would watch from an attached room, safe from the electricity and rays of radiation that was about to hum throughout the room. Ymir and Hange were already safe behind the glass pane that separated them from danger.

“Ymir, dial to 5 seconds.” Erwin knew what was coming.

The freckled woman looked at him in disgust.

“No way,” Ymir argued. “We haven’t progressed past 2.5. We can’t double that.”

The problem with working with other people is often their emotions blinded their sensibilities.

“Dial to 5. This is not optionable request.” 

Hissing, Ymir turned the dial to add the extra time. Erwin knew that he would hear about this the rest of the week, but he didn’t care. The large timer on the wall slowly descended to zero as the group braced themselves.

Erwin always had to rewatch the room footage to actually see what happened as the force of the shock was too quick for his eye to catch. In the film, he could see the wires spark as Historia’s body would begin to glow. Around the .5 second mark, her body would begin to tremble and wouldn’t stop until the shock ceased. 

The soft golden glow would increase around .9 seconds, which Hange theorized was her way to protect herself from the hit. At 1.5 seconds the vacuums would start in an attempt to collect the dust being pulled away.

From that first night, Erwin realized that Historia had the power to heal all wounds. When he had woken Levi to show him, he suggested that Erwin might have a cure. As always, Erwin took what Levi said and ran with it. The thing was they couldn’t just wipe the dust from Historia. She only had a finite amount that reproduced very slowly. Once it was on human skin, it couldn’t be wiped away or shifted to another. Ymir had been tasked those first few weeks with finding a way to collect it, but the dust seemed to magnetized itself to living beings. It didn’t matter if she wore gloves as it would eat through to her fingertips. 

“Why not collected it another way?” Levi offered one night at the dinner table. “Just make sure it isn’t transferred with a human touch.”

Hange figured the vacuum idea would be the best, but unless Historia was contained the dust just float on towards the closest body. So the tube was created. A few test runs quickly produced...nothing. They were getting nothing. 

“Have you considered what happens to the dust that doesn’t meet flesh?” Levi asked one night as they sat outside and stared at the giant hole in their backyard. “Does it just dissolve into our atmosphere? Maybe the more you collect, the better chance they can survive off of each other?

Historia suggested the shocks. Ymir, who in those weeks grew a great attachment to the star, adamantly fought this idea. Her voice was shadowed by Hange and Moblit’s discover that the dust could not penetrate thick glass. Historia would be shocked, the vacuums would collect, and hopefully, enough would be transferred into the vial to keep itself viable.

5 second flew quickly and as soon as the containment doors opened, Ymir ran into the room with Erwin close behind her. 

“Historia!” Ymir yelled as she released the tube door. 

The star was breathing deeply and wore a look of pain on her face. As Ymir hushed her down while releasing her bonds, Erwin went to the vial.

A dying glow etched the very bottom of the vial and the entirety of it was moved to a freezing container for Hange to start working out a formula. Until now they hadn’t been able to collect enough to sustain itself. This was progress. 

“That isn’t enough.” Historia’s voice was cracked and faded.

Erwin faced the star. “How many will this help?”

“Three, maybe four thousand.” She tried to stand but collapsed into Ymir’s arms.

Erwin knew the news was getting worse. People were asking questions he was expected to have the answers too. He told Levi and the rest of their crew that they were no longer to go out into the city without approval in fear of contamination. They didn’t have time for tests and theory. They needed results.

“Tomorrow we try 10.”

Ymir glared at him as she held Historia to her chest. “You can’t jump that high, Erwin. Her body isn't ready for it. Are you trying to kill her?”

Historia, the fallen star with glowing skin, looked up from the safety of Ymir’s embrace. This beautiful creature had looked into his mind and saw the worst parts of him. She knew all he knew, and for this, she nodded.

Her voice still fragile, she agreed. “We try 10.”

Defeated, Ymir gripped Historia closer and looked at him like he was a monster. Erwin accepted this title. Someone had to be a monster when it came to saving the world. Might as well be him.

It was then his phone rang, which meant it was important as only the crew and Levi had his number. He answered as Ymir helped Historia back to her bunk.

“Erwin, we found another star,” Mike spoke over the phone. 

A wave of excitement and relief washed over him. “Wonderful. Bring it here.”

A pause before Nanaba’s voice came onto the phone. “We can’t. The star got into a taxi and disappeared in the city.”

“The star did what?”

***

If Eren dreamed, he dreamed of noise. Horrible crashing, rapid gunfire, and even cries of pain. The world would be so dark but the noise surrounded him. His therapist said it could be resulting from his PTSD, but Eren really didn’t want to talk about it, which was why he hadn’t made another appointment.

This morning his dreams were silent so when he heard the crash of pots he knew he had to wake up. He lived alone and did not own pets, which meant this had to be an intruder. When he woke, he found he was on the couch still fully dressed.

“Safe?” A small voice called from his kitchen.

Armin the fallen star appeared in the entryway between his living room and his kitchen holding a bottle of ketchup. The events of last night quickly returned to Eren like a movie: Armin fell from the sky, the car chase, the freaky mind reading, and the announcement he wasn’t an alien. It all seemed like a dream, but as he watched Armin hold the ketchup bottle out he knew it wasn’t.

“Um, yeah, ketchup is safe.” Eren rubbed the sleep out of his eyes just in time to watch Armin tip the ketchup bottle back to his mouth. “But don’t eat it like that!”

Armin took the nozzle out of his mouth and closed the cap. “Oh.”

Still dressed in Eren’s PJ bottoms and shirt, Armin appeared to be drowning in the clothing. A low grumble came from Armin’s stomach. Eren recognized that noise and rose to his feet to join Armin in the kitchen.

He almost wished he hadn’t when he saw the state of his kitchen. Pots and pans were everywhere and almost everything in his pantry was taken out. Flour had been scattered on the floor and an entire box of cereal was littered on the table. It was like a toddler was let loose in his kitchen.

“What happened?” Eren asked.

“I was learning.” Armin held up a bottle of hot sauce. “This is painful.”

Armin had a point but it wasn’t an excuse for the mess. Sighing, Eren directed Armin to the bedroom. They would go out for breakfast, which meant they had to change. Eren let Armin wear a pair of gym shorts and a clean shirt. Somehow he managed to find a pair of sandals that sorta fit him as well. 

“Why new clothes?” Armin asked as he pulled on the sandals.

“Because you were in sleeping clothes.” Eren led him to his car that was parked in the garage. “People need to change into day clothes when they go out.”

Armin followed Eren into the car and allowed him to put on his seatbelt. “But I’m a star, Eren. Not a people.”

“I’m aware, but you look like a people, err, person. Let's keep the whole star thing on the down-low, ok?”

Armin nodded, and on second thought, Eren decided to explain what down-low meant. As they journeyed into the city, Armin asked a question about nearly everything they drove by. In the short drive, Eren explained the concept of cars, billboards, dogs on leashes, and why he had to pull over for an ambulance.

“People have so many rules,” Armin commented.

“Do stars not have as many rules?” Eren figured he might as well learn about star culture.

“We have one rule: Serve the Queen’s wishes.” Armin hands fell to his lap. “My queen has gone missing and I’ve been sent to return her home.”

Eren paid close attention to Armin’s story. According to him, the Queen was monitoring the constellations months ago and never returned back to the throne. His fellow stars searched for her but could only pinpoint her location to his area. Armin had volunteered and caught a ride with the meteor shower.

“Which is how I ended up here,” Armin finished as soon as they pulled into the parking lot of old diner.

A star on a mission to retrieve a missing queen. Eren could have sworn he had seen a movie about this before and now he was living it. He had so many questions but both their stomachs growled at the same time, which meant that food came first.

Armin followed closely behind Eren in the restaurant. It was an old diner that was usually packed on weekends, but luckily they had arrived during a slow period. Eren brought him to a booth towards the back. Eren sat down and had to direct Armin to do the same.

“Just do what I do,” Eren whispered. 

So when Eren opened his menu, Armin did the same. The waitress, a young girl named Sasha, arrived soon after and greeted Eren by name.

“Who is your friend?” Sasha said with a taste of concern in her voice.

It was then Eren noticed Armin’s menu was upside down. “Oh, uh...he is a friend from...far away. Not here. He just wants pancakes.”

“Eren, are pancakes safe?” Armin asked, obviously concerned. 

Rubbing his forehead, he nodded. “Sasha, can we get two orders of pancakes.”

“Of course. Two orders of safe pancakes.”

Eren could hear her laughing as she went back into the kitchen. While they waited, Armin investigated nearly every sugar packet, then the salt and pepper, and was about to dive into the creamer when Eren snatched his hand away.

“Leave it be,” Eren commanded. 

Armin’s hand was warm, which was a startling change from last night. Luckily their two stacks of pancakes quickly arrived. Eren took it upon himself to spread a dab of butter and pour some syrup over Armin’s plate. Armin watched him cut the pancakes into bit size pieces and did the same but left it on his fork.

“Armin, its safe.” Eren took a bite. “See?”

Armin first bite was hesitant, but after a good chew, he began to stuff his face. He ate so rapidly that Eren had to tell him to slow down. 

“Can you explain something to me?” Eren asked as soon as Armin was done. “Do you remember that weird moment last night between you and I?”

“When we cuddled?” Armin asked.

“Wait, what?” Eren rose an eyebrow. “We didn’t cuddle.”

“My feet were on your lap,” Armin said without a doubt. “I believe that is cuddling. Right, Eren? That is cuddling?”

“No, Armin, not that. I meant..." Eren looked around the diner before lowering his voice. "When you went into my head.”

Armin nodded. “Yes, I remember that. You gave me permission to read your memories. I didn’t go very deep, though. Just enough to have a better understanding your world.”

Eren crossed his arms. “I never gave you permission.”

Again Armin nodded. “You did when you put my hand on your chest. I knew you really only wanted me to understand the very basics, which is why I didn’t go deeper. Do you want me to go deeper?”

“No, I do not want you to go deeper than you've already been.”

A voice cut in. “Ahem?”

The two turned to find Sasha, check in hand, looking at them with a glint in her eye. Groaning, Eren took the check. 

From the pancake joint, they drove to a clothing shop. It was a terribly warm day and most of the tourists must have still been sleeping off whatever hangover they had from the night before. Armin followed Eren closely, and on occasion would grab his hand if he felt Eren was walking too fast.

They picked up a couple pair of shorts and tees that fit Armin better than his own as well as a pair of sandals that didn’t slide off his feet. Armin giggled as he tried on the various items in the store.

“People are so fun,” Armin turned to look at himself in the mirror outside of the dressing room. “Stars don’t bother with dressing up.”

Eren, who was sitting on a bench outside of the dressing room chuckled. “So you are all walking around naked up there?”

“If a people saw us, then yes, they would think we are naked. We don’t think the concept of clothing is important.” Armin started to change outside of the dressing room and Eren had to forcefully push him back in. “My queen loves people, though, and would wear clothes if she could. She thinks people are beautiful.”

They threw their purchases in back in Eren’s car and decided to take a walk down the strip. They parked in one of the side alleys a few streets away to avoid the busy traffic. Armin had more questions about things that Eren often didn’t think about, like why red meant to stop or why some people shoved others to the side to get where they needed to go.

The heat was intense, and although Armin didn’t seem to mind, Eren was sweating up a storm. So they stopped at an ice cream cart and Eren bought them each a cone.

“Safe?” Armin eyed the ice cream cone.

Eren rolled his eyes, took a lick, and nodded. “Yes, very safe.”

Happily sighing, Armin took a large bite out of the cold treat. Eren immediately reached out to grab the cone away but Armin learned the hard way that ice cream had to be eaten gingerly. It took a few minutes to convince Armin that the ice cream was safe again, and after showing him how to eat it, Armin carefully consumed the rest of it.

They continued down the street. They could easily head home, but Eren wasn’t finished watching Armin soak in his surroundings. He imagined it was like being with a child who was allowed to walk on their own for the first time. Armin stared into shop windows and tried to catch the birds. He stopped at every street musician and danced to the tune they were playing. 

“Dance with me, Eren!” Armin laughed as he twirled around to a cover song played on a ukulele. 

“I don’t dance, Armin.” Eren waved away Armin’s request but watched with interest as Armin pulled a few random folks into his dance. He was friendly and made those he danced with smile as well, which in turn gave Eren a strange feeling in his stomach.

The afternoon was withering into the night, which meant the street was about to come alive. While he knew Armin would have a blast with all the folks that came out at nightfall, he figured they had enough excitement for one night. It was hard to pull Armin back towards the car, but eventually, the star agreed.

“Find your queen yet?” Eren asked as they rounded the corner to the alleyway his car was parked.

Armin shook his head. “No. I hope to find her soon.”

“What if you don’t find her?”

Armin stopped, his eyes downcast. “Not an option.”

They stopped when they got to his car in the empty alleyway. The music that started each night was loud and made the ground shake. Eren wondered if stars could hear all the commotion they made down here. 

“I’ll come back out tomorrow,” Armin said as he leaned against the trunk of Eren’s car. “I know you are busy so I can go alone.”

“Nah, I’m not too busy,” Eren lied. “I can drive you around for a bit tomorrow. It’s not a big deal.”

“You are too kind, Eren.”

Eren felt himself blushing and quickly changed the subject. 

“So why you?” Eren asked. “If there are thousands upon thousands of stars, why did you decide to go.”

It may have been a trick of headlights passing by, but Eren knew that the soft glow was coming from Armin. The star smiled at him, showing him how his eyes crinkled around the edges. 

“I love people too,” Armin admitted. “ Every single one of you is so amazing. People make the most spectacular things. I often watch with jealousy. I can only shine. You can create.”

Armin stood up from his seat against the car and folded his hands behind his back. Eren felt the warmth coming from Armin permeate against his skin.

“You especially Eren. I think you just might be the most beautiful of all the people.”

Eren’s throat grew tight. This star had no idea what he was talking about. He was a scarred human, bitter and fearful. There was nothing beautiful about that.

From behind them, he heard tires squeal and car doors open but he couldn’t take his eyes from Armin. The outside world seemed much less interesting.

Armin, still smiling, looked over Eren’s shoulder and pointed. “Who are they?” 

Eren heard the bullet before felt it. Breaking of air and sudden silence was a noise he was very familiar with. Warm blood spilled into his palm when he pressed it against the location of the noise. He had been shot in the side of his abdomen.

Armin was still in front of him but his eyes had grown wide. The star looked confused as he reached out to touch Eren’s hand. A smear of vibrantly bright blood stained Armin’s fingers. Only seconds before Armin was smiling and Eren certainly liked that image better. 

“Eren, what does this red mean,” Armin choked out as he looked at his fingers.

“Get in the car, Armin.” Eren knew he had said the words but didn’t feel himself speaking. “Driver’s side.”

Whatever adrenaline Eren had hit him like the crashing of a wave. He used the last of his energy to dive towards the passenger side door. One foot after another. A trail of blood followed him and started to pool in the car as soon as he entered. This was going to cost him a fortune to clean up.

Eren could see two figures in the mirror. They weren’t advancing towards them. In fact, it looked like they were arguing. He knew the city where he lived was not always safe, often making those ‘Top Dangerous Cities’ lists but he had never been attacked before. He couldn’t tell if this was a mugging gone wrong or an intentional attack. But why would anyone want to hurt him? 

“Eren, let me look at your memories.” Armin was turned towards him and kneading his hands into Eren’s thigh. 

“Is this really the time?” 

“I don’t know how to drive a car!” Armin frantically cried. “I need to know. I need to get you somewhere safe.”

The pain began to hit. It was a horrible burning that rooted in his side and blossomed up his back. It caused him to cry out as he shifted in his seat. He kept his hand pressed against the wound to stop the flow but the strength in his arm weakened. The blood that poured out was warm and thick as it soaked through his pants.

This would kill him. He had seen it kill others.

A sudden dizziness took him over and he had to tell himself what was happening. This was blood loss and the reason why his vision was going gray. To his left Armin was grabbing at his shoulders and...was he crying? Screaming? Just beyond Armin was a looming shadow. Eren had to blink to tell if it was inside or out of the car.

There had always been so much noise in Eren’s head, but for once he heard nothing. 

Until he heard Armin. 

“Safe.”

Armin’s eyes were brimmed with tears and his lip was quivering. This was not how Eren wanted to remember Armin. No, he would remember him like he was before, eyes crinkled with a toothy smile. With all his strength, Eren nodded and Armin’s hands dove into his hair. After this, Eren saw nothing. While it had been so frightening the first time, it was welcomed the second. 

***

Eren woke to a golden light. This was not death, but it certainly wasn’t a lamp. His eyes tried to adjust but could not. He could not feel his toes or fingers but couldn’t bring the strength to get anxious about it. The light got brighter and his entire body felt warm.

“Rest, Eren.”

So he did.

***

“You were supposed to shoot him in the leg!” Nanaba said as they drove down the bare highway. “Not in his side.”

“I missed.” Mike gave no other explanation.

Nanaba tightened her grip on the steering wheel and accepted that they had fucked up. Erwin wanted the star, they found the star, but they were driving back without the star. They were in so much trouble.

“What happened, Mike?” She asked as they drove deeper into the desert. “You never miss. That was an easy shot.”

Mike said nothing and Nanaba groaned. Erwin gave permission to fire a shot at the star’s human helper only if they were trying to escape. The star and the boy were just talking but Mike shot without warning and without being provoked. The shot ran loud and they both knew they would quickly be discovered, which was forbidden. 

After the shot, Nanaba ran to the car the two jumped in and knocked on the window. The boy was bleeding heavily and the star had his hands on the boy’s head. She started to pound harder, calling out to them to open the door, but the star was quick as it started the car and threw it in reverse. Just managing to jump out of the way, she screamed at Mike to get in the car. By the time she was back on the road, the star was gone. 

There was nothing else to do but hang their heads in shame and go back to the base. Erwin would be disappointed but they at least had the car’s license plate and a description of the human helper. It was a start.

“Nanaba.” Mike's voice was deep when he said her name. “I’m sorry.”

“We will just have to try again,” She said as the city lights disappeared. 

Mike coughed and a chill ran up her spine. They both saw the blood on his hand. 

“Not for that. Don’t turn around for me.”

She watched in horror as Mike opened the car door and roll out into the road. Gasping, she slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car. She could see Mike nearly 50 yards away. His body thrashed against the ground and she could hear his screams of pain. Her chest felt tight as she clutched a fistful of her hair. 

She had seen this before. This disease, this flu, this whatever it was, had multitudes of symptoms, but this was the most common. Both of them had seen the videos of victims thrashing, blood pouring from their mouth and eyes. She couldn't see it, but she knew what that was happening to him.

There was nothing she could do except call Erwin.

“Erwin, this is Nanaba,” She cried into the phone. “Mike has it. Mike has the sickness. You need to come help, we are only a mile from the base.”

Mike’s screams died away and she watched his body slow its fidgeting. She could hear him calling out to her.

She could no longer control her breathing. “I think he is dying, Erwin, please come quick!”

“Leave him there.” Erwin’s voice was cold. “We will collect his body when it is safe.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “He is still alive, Erwin. He is calling for me.”

When Erwin didn’t answer, she swore into the phone and demanded he come now. Mike’s calls were becoming quiet and his body was still but she was too afraid to run to him. For nearly a decade she had stood by his side and did whatever she was asked to do. He had always been level-headed and brave and she couldn’t find an ounce of that in her body to comfort him now. 

Again he called her name and she felt like she was breaking apart.

Finally, Erwin spoke. “Do not approach the infected. Quarantine yourself in your living quarters. Do not come out. This is an order.”

“You can’t do this,” She felt the hot tears prick his cheeks. “He isn’t dead, Erwin. He needs help. He isn’t dead.”

The call was done and she felt the fear instill in her body. She fell back into the driver’s seat and sobbed, yet it didn’t cover the sounds of Mike calling her name. Sorrowful and pitiful, he confessed things she didn't want to hear. A dead man's requiem. It was only when he fell silent that she turned the car on and drove to her small house in the desert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. This was supposed to be my 'easy' multichapter fic when I needed a break from my other one. Haha, yeah, I went and complicated it like I usually do.
> 
> Oops.
> 
> So, anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you are bored, come talk to me over on Tumblr. I have a not so active blog over there under the same username.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I know this trope has been over done but I love it so I'm doing it. Thanks for reading, for kudos, and for reviews! Love to you all!


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